Non-contact electrical conduction measurement for insulating films

ABSTRACT

A corona source is used to apply charge to an insulating layer. The resulting voltage over time is used to determine the current through the layer. The resulting data determines a current-voltage characteristic for the layer and may be used to determine the tunneling field for the layer.

This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 08/841,501, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,097,196 filed Apr. 23, 1997.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor wafertesting and, more particularly, to the measurement of the electronicconduction behavior of various insulating layers.

The production of insulating layers, particularly, thin oxide layers, isbasic to the fabrication of integrated circuit devices on semiconductorwafers. A variety of insulating dielectric layers are used for a widerange of applications. These insulating layers can be used, for example,to separate gate layers from underlying silicon gate regions, as storagecapacitors in DRAM circuits, for electrical device isolation and toelectrically isolate multilayer metal layers. The electrical insulatingproperties of these layers is of great interest. Some of the measures ofthe electrical insulating quality of these layers are (1) the conductioncurrent at a given applied voltage or applied electric field strength,(2) the voltage or electric field strength corresponding to a givenapplied conduction current and (3) the terminal value of a saturatingincrease in voltage or electric field strength (tunneling field)corresponding to a regime of rapidly increasing conduction withincreasing voltage or field.

Another property of interest, related to the insulating properties of aninsulating layer is the electrical breakdown voltage of the dielectriclayer. Voltage can be increased across an insulating layer until asudden increase in conduction current is observed. If this current isdue to a localized fault or a physical pinhole in the dielectric, thenit is often referred to as a defect breakdown. If the current is due toa field induced impact ionization mechanism that takes place ratheruniformly over the entire cross section of the dielectric, then thefield produced by the applied voltage (i.e., voltage over thickness ofthe dielectric) is considered to be the intrinsic breakdown field of thematerial.

It is noted that for thermal oxides (e.g., silicon dioxide), forexample, the tunneling currents can be so high as to tend to obscure theintrinsic breakdown characteristic of the material.

Various methods involving the use of contacts at the oxide surface havebeen used for measurement of current-voltage behavior. These methodssuffer from sensitivity to pinholes in the oxide and from localizedbreakdown effects associated with the contacting electrodes.

A typical approach has been to deposit a metal layer on top of the oxideand to then apply a test voltage to the oxide. This not only affects themeasurement, but also will typically spoil the test wafer.

The current-voltage behavior of an insulator can be influenced by thecomposition of the layer as well as the thermodynamic growth conditionsof the layer. Other perturbing influences can be electron trappingstates in the layer, polarity dependent carrier injection from thesilicon and the particular type of deposited electrode that is used toperform the measurements. Quite often, particularly for thin oxides, theability to make measurements is thwarted by pinholes in the layer thatbecome localized highly conductive paths after a measurement electrodeis deposited. The present invention is advantageously insensitive tolocalized faults and pinholes.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,974 is incorporated herein in its entirety byreference. The patent discloses an apparatus for depositing coronacharge on an insulating layer and for measuring the voltage on thesurface of the layer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method for measuring a current-voltage characteristic for aninsulating layer on a substrate includes depositing increments of coronacharge on the layer, measuring the derivative of a voltage resultingfrom a reduction of the charge with respect to time, and determiningfrom the voltage and voltage derivative the current-voltagecharacteristic.

A method for measuring tunneling field for an oxide layer on asemiconductor wafer including (a) depositing an increment of coronacharge on the layer, (b) measuring a voltage across the layer, (c)pausing an increment of time, (d) repeating steps b and c until thevoltage saturates, and (e) using the saturation voltage to determine thetunneling field.

A method for measuring tunneling field for an oxide layer on asemiconductor wafer including depositing a predetermined value of excesscharge on the layer, measuring a voltage across the layer, anddetermining tunneling field in accordance with the voltage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus for practicing theinvention.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary graph of current versus voltage for a thin oxideunder test.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary graph of current versus voltage for a thick oxideunder test.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary graph of electric field versus corona charge fora tunneling field test on an oxide.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, an apparatus 10 for measuring the current-voltagecharacteristic for an oxide 12 on a substrate 14 of a semiconductorwafer 15 may include a wafer chuck 16, corona gun 18, a Kelvin probe 20,a Kelvin control 22, a current to voltage converter 24, a currentintegrator 26, a position actuator 28, a high voltage supply 30, and acontroller 32.

The wafer chuck 16 holds the wafer 15 during the measurement process andprovides a grounding contact to the substrate 14 of the wafer 14. Thegrounding contact can be obtained, for example, from a high pressurecontact using a sharp tungsten carbide needle.

The high voltage supply 30 supplies high voltage (e.g., 6-12 Kv to thecorona gun 18 to produce positive or negative corona charges dependingon the polarity of the supply 30. In the preferred embodiment, the gun18 includes one or more needles 19 connected to the high voltage supply30.

The Kelvin probe 20 is an electrode attached to a vibrator 21. Movementof the probe 20 above a charged surface results in an AC voltagerepresentative of the potential of the charged surface. The Kelvincontrol 22 converts the AC voltage to a signal corresponding to thevoltage of the surface.

Current flowing through the wafer 15 from the corona gun 18 is convertedto a voltage by the current to voltage converter 24. This voltage(current) is integrated by the charge integrator 26 to provide a measureof the charge deposited by the corona gun 18 on the oxide 12. Thecircuits thus provide a coulombmeter.

A position actuator 28 may be provided to move the corona gun 18 and theKelvin probe 20 over the wafer 15.

The controller 32 controls the operation of the apparatus 10. Thecontroller 32 controls the position actuator 28 and the high voltagesupply 30 in response to the Kelvin controller 22, the current tovoltage converter 24 and the current integrator 26. Based on the methodset forth below, the controller 32 can provide a measurement 34 of theI-V behavior. The controller 32 may be, for example, a dedicatedmicroprocessor-based controller or a general purpose computer.

For ease of understanding the description below we will assume themeasurement of the I-V characteristic of a thermal oxide on a P minussilicon substrate with a negative polarity corona. However, it should beunderstood that the method of the invention is applicable to a varietyof insulating or dielectric layers grown and/or deposited on substratesof semiconductor materials or metals. The charge used can be positive ornegative, as appropriate.

The oxide current I_(OX) may be expressed as the product of the oxidecapacitance per unit area C_(OX) and the derivative with respect to timeof the voltage across the oxide (dV_(OX)/dt).

C_(OX) can be calculated from E_(O)•E_(OX)/T_(OX). Where E_(O)is thepermitivity of free space, 8.86E-14 farads/cm, E_(OX) is the relativedielectric constant of the oxide (3.9 for thermal oxide), T_(OX) is thethickness of the oxide in centimeters.

The derivative of V_(OX) can be approximated by the change in V_(OX),ΔV_(OX) during a time Δt in seconds.

An increment of charge as determined by the current integrator 26 isdeposited on the oxide surface by the corona gun 18 and the voltageV_(OX) measured by the Kelvin probe 20. After a delay, Δt, V_(OX) ismeasured again. This then gives a value for dV_(OX)/dt which is used todetermine I_(OX). This change in voltage results from the reduction ofcharge over the interval Δt. The time Δt used varies with the oxidethickness and is picked to provide the desired sensitivity for measuringthe oxide current. The increments of charge can also be summed toprovide the cumulative deposited charge Q_(OX).

In general, it may also be necessary to remove any undesired charge fromthe surface of the dielectric layer before starting the measurements.This may be accomplished by measuring the voltage with the Kelvin probe20 and applying charge with the corona gun 18 until the oxide voltage isat a typically low value (e.g., −2 volts for a 1,000 Å oxide)corresponding to a low field and a slight degree of siliconaccumulation. As a first approximation, the voltage reading of theKelvin probe, V_(KP) will be equal to V_(OX). This approximation willhold very well for thick oxides (e.g., greater than 2,000 Å), where thework function difference, V_(WF), between the Kelvin probe and thesilicon bulk can sometimes be ignored and where the silicon surfacepotential, V_(Si), (which is in series with V_(KP)) can also sometimesbe ignored.

In order to estimate the actual value of the oxide voltage, V_(OX),V_(KP) must be corrected for the fact that V_(KP) =V_(OX)+V_(WF)+V_(Si). Therefore, V_(WF) and V_(Si) are first estimated and subtractedfrom V_(KP). V_(WF) can be estimated by first substituting a material,with a predetermined, known work function, such as gold or graphite, inplace of the wafer and then measuring V_(KP).

V_(Si) can be estimated from a surface photovoltage, measurement, SPV,using a very high light intensity source such as xenon flash. Devicesfor making SPV measurements are well-known in the art. For a given valueof SPV and a reasonably estimated value of excess optically inducedcarrier generation, delta n, there will be an approximate correspondingvalue of V_(Si) that can be calculated from a theoretical model, such asthat of E. O. Johnson, Phys. Rev., Vol. 111, No. 1. The first ordereffect in the Johnson model is that the magnitude of SPV tends toapproach V_(Si) and delta n becomes comparable to and larger than thesilicon doping concentration. It is noted that delta n can also beestimated from Johnson, based on a SPV measurement in strongaccumulation and in. strong inversion.

For more accuracy and/or thinner oxides, the above corrections can beemployed.

In the preferred embodiment, the oxide layer 12 starts at zero volts,either inherently or by the application of the appropriate polarity andquantity of corona charge by the corona gun 18.

Then a negative increment of corona charge ΔQ_(c) is deposited onto theoxide surface by the corona gun 18. This results in a first oxidevoltage V_(OX1) being measured by the Kelvin probe 20.

After a pause, Δt, the Kelvin probe 20 measures a second oxide voltageV_(OX2). The difference between the voltages is used with Δt todetermine I_(OX).

The incrementing of the corona charge ΔQ_(c) and the calculation of theresulting I_(OX) continues until an I-V characteristic of interest hasbeen generated.

Referring to FIG. 2, a graph of I-V results from the above method for athermal oxide layer with a thickness of 143 ∈ is shown. The Δt used was15 seconds. The charge increment was about 3.3E-7 coulombs/cm².

Referring to FIG. 3, a graph of I-V results from the above method for athermal oxide layer with a thickness of 1,000 Å is shown. The Δt usedwas 60 seconds. The charge increment was about 3.3E-7 coulombs/cm².

The V-I graphs in FIGS. 2 and 3 can be used to identify the oxidevoltage or electric field at a given conduction current. Conversely,FIGS. 2 and 3 can also be used to identify the conduction currentcorresponding to a given value of oxide voltage or field strength. Inaddition, the likely existence of a particular conduction mechanism ofinterest, can be postulated by curve-fitting various oxide conductionmodels to the I-V behavior in FIGS. 2 and 3. For example, conduction dueto tunneling. behavior would tend to exhibit an I-V characteristicI=V_(OX) ² * exp(−b/V_(OX)), where b is a constant. This tunnelingbehavior occurs, for example, in thermal oxides. Conduction due to fieldenhanced thermal excitation of carriers from bulk oxide traps (known asFrenkel-Poole Emission) would tend to exhibit and I-V characteristicI=V*exp(f(T,V)), where f(T,V) is a function of temperature and thevoltage across the dielectric, V. Frenkel-Poole Emission is observed,for example, for silicon nitride layers.

The accuracy of the I-V characteristic can be further improved bycorrecting for V_(WF) and V_(Si) (in case of substrates other thansilicon, other surface potentials can be evaluated).

The work function of a material is defined as the energy required toremove an electron from the Fermi level, physically extract it from thematerial and then move it an infinite distance away from the material.V_(WF) can-be expressed as the work function difference between the workfunction of the Kelvin probe electrode, W_(KP), and the work function ofthe silicon bulk, W_(Si), of the wafer under test. While W_(Si) is knownto be about 4.8 eV, W_(KP) is usually unknown and may drift due todipole effects from adsorbed air molecules.

W_(KP) can be determined by making a calibrating Kelvin probemeasurement, V_(KP2) of a material having a predetermined effective workfunction, W_(REF), in place of the wafer 12. For example, highlyoriented pyrolytic graphite may be used as a reference material. Thisgraphite has the advantage that a freshly cleaved surface can beobtained by applying and removing a piece of adhesive tape from thesurface. This fresh surface allows for very repeatable measurements ofW_(KP), where W_(KP=V) _(KP2)−W_(REF). It follows then thatV_(WF)=V_(KP2)+W_(REF)−W_(Si).

The resulting value for V_(WF) is then subtracted from V_(KP) by thecontroller 32 to provide a corrected value for V_(OX).

The SPV tool 34 is used to make an SPV measurement using a very highintensity light source such as a xenon flash tube. The resulting valueof SPV is then used to estimate V_(Si) which is then subtracted fromV_(KP) by the controller 32 to provide a corrected value for V_(OX).

The light intensity must be sufficient for creating a concentration ofexcess light induced carriers that is comparable to or greater than thedoping concentration of the wafer (e.g., 1E15 carriers/cm³). The excesscarriers (electrons and holes) will separate in the silicon surfacefield, due to V_(Si), and then set up an opposing field that will tendto reduce V_(Si) toward zero. Therefore, the magnitude of the SPV(actually, the change in V_(Si)) will tend to be a significant fractionof V_(Si). For silicon, in the depletion regime, the SPV can be as muchas 80% of V_(Si). For the accumulation regime, the SPV will tend to beabout 30% of V_(Si).

The need to correct for V_(WF) and V_(Si) becomes greater for thinneroxides. An uncorrected error in V_(WF) could be as high as one volt. Fora 2,000 Å oxide this could correspond to a tunneling field error of 0.05Mv/cm which would be a 0.6% error for a nominal tunneling field of about8 Mv/cm. In contrast, for a 50 Å oxide, the error would go up to 25%. Bycorrecting for V_(WF), this latter error can be reduced to about 5%.

An uncorrected error in V_(Si) can also be significant. Assuming a trueoxide conduction current of about 46E-9 amps/cm², for a 2,000 Å thickoxide, the theoretical drop in oxide voltage per second would be about265 mv/sec. Without using V_(WF) or V_(Si) correction results, forexample, in a measured drop in oxide surface voltage of 283 mv/sec or a7% error.

In the case of a 50 Å thick oxide, the theoretical drop in oxide voltageper second would be about 7 mv/sec. Without using V_(WF) or V_(Si)correction results, for example, in a measured drop in oxide surfacevoltage of 30 mv/sec, or 400% error. Correcting the measurement forV_(Si) and V_(WF) realistically reduces the error by a factor of ten.

The theoretical values are based on the Johnson Model, assuming that theexcess light induced carrier concentration was a reasonable value equalto ten times the doping concentration of the wafer, which was assumed tobe 1E15 toms/cm³.

The measured data can also be advantageously used to determine thetunneling field for an oxide. Referring to FIG. 4, electrical fieldstrength (V_(OX)/T_(OX)), as a function of deposited corona charge,Q_(OX) is shown. This is a convenient way of finding the saturating,terminal value of the oxide field corresponding to increasing depositedcorona charge density. In FIG. 4, the electric field strength in a 28.8Å thermal oxide is tending to reach a terminal value as the oxideconduction current (coulombs/sec-cm²), due to tunneling, approaches therate of corona deposition (coulombs/sec-cm²). This terminal value (here,about 8 Mv/cm) is referred to as the tunneling field.

Tunneling field may also be measured more directly with the apparatus10. The corona gun 18 is used to deposit a charge on the oxide 12 thatwould be sufficient to establish a field strength greater than theexpected tunneling field (e.g., 7-10 Mv/cm). This predetermined value ofexcess charge only creates a field corresponding to the tunneling fielddue to the resulting tunneling current. The resulting V_(OX) is measuredwith the Kelvin probe 20 and the tunneling field determined fromV_(OX)/T_(OX). The repeatability and accuracy of the measurement can beimproved by controlling the corona deposition rate, total corona chargeand elapsed time before making the V_(OX) measurement.

The method of the invention allows measurement of I-V characteristicsand tunneling field without spurious results due to localized defectssuch as pinholes. Because no conductor is applied to the surface of thedielectric, the localized defects stay localized as only the localcorona charge is available to pass through the defect. It is also noted,that for tunneling current measurements, this invention offers the addedadvantage of not having otherwise, undesirable, enhanced tunnelingaround the abrupt edge of a MOS electrode. This edge effect problem wasdiscussed in T. B. Hook and T. P. Ma, J. Applied Physics. 59 (11), Jun.1, 1986. For the Corona-Oxide-Semiconductor electrode used in thisinvention, the charge density around the effective edge of the electrodewill tend to be tapered, as opposed to a MOS electrode.

It should be evident that this disclosure is by way of example and thatvarious changes may be made by adding, modifying or eliminating detailswithout departing from the fair scope of the teaching contained in thisdisclosure. The invention is therefore not limited to particular detailsof this disclosure except to the extent that the following claims arenecessarily so limited.

What is claimed:
 1. A method for measuring a current-voltage characteristic for an insulating layer on a substrate, said method comprising: depositing increments of corona charge on said layer; measuring a voltage and a derivative of said voltage resulting from a reduction in said charge with respect to time; and determining from said voltage and voltage derivative said current-voltage characteristic.
 2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising: making a calibrating work function voltage measurement of a known material; and correcting said current-voltage characteristic according to said calibrating work function voltage.
 3. A method according to claim 1, further comprising: making a surface photovoltage measurement for said layer; and correcting said current-voltage characteristic according to said surface photovoltage measurement.
 4. A method for measuring a current-voltage characteristic for an insulating layer on a substrate, said method comprising: (a) depositing an increment of corona charge on said layer; (b) measuring a first voltage across said layer; (c) pausing an increment of time and then measuring a second voltage across said layer; (d) determining a difference between said first and second voltages; (e) determining a value for current across said layer from said difference and said increment of time; and (f) repeating steps a-e to determine said current-voltage characteristic.
 5. A method according to claim 4, further comprising: making a calibrating work function voltage measurement of a known material; and correcting said current-voltage characteristic according to said calibrating work function voltage.
 6. A method according to claim 4, further comprising: making a surface photovoltage measurement for said layer; and correcting said current-voltage characteristic according to said surface photovoltage measurement.
 7. A method according to claim 4, further comprising measuring an initial voltage across said layer and forcing the potential of the oxide layer to zero by depositing an initial corona charge on said layer.
 8. A method for measuring tunneling field for an oxide layer on a semiconductor wafer, said method comprising: depositing a predetermined value of excess charge on said layer; measuring a voltage across said layer; and determining the tunneling field in accordance with said voltage.
 9. A method according to claim 8, further comprising: making a calibrating work function voltage measurement of a known material; and correcting said current-voltage characteristic according to said calibrating work function voltage.
 10. A method according to claim 8, further comprising: making a surface photovoltage measurement for said layer; and correcting said current-voltage characteristic according to said surface photovoltage measurement. 